England's position in Group G was strengthened when Bulgaria and Switzerland drew a blank in Sofia. This limp draw left both sides six points adrift of Fabio Capello's side and Montenegro.

Lothar Mätthaus's Bulgaria took on a Switzerland side coached by the former midfielder's one-time Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, but neither pupil nor master could get the upper hand. The most notable moments of the game came when Alexander Frei was twice denied by the home goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov.

The Bulgaria captain Stilian Petrov became the second player from his country to have earned 100 caps, following the Bulgarian Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov, who picked up 102, but was unable to inspire his team to their first home victory over the Swiss.

Bulgaria, chasing their first home win in the qualifying campaign, began brightly with Ivelin Popov shooting just wide in the first minute and Dimitar Makriev going close with a header. Petrov, the Aston Villa midfielder, could have marked his century with a goal but shot over the bar after a fine solo run and cross from Popov.

Switzerland also had their chances, with the captain Frei's bullet header being parried by Mihaylov on the half-hour.

Bulgaria were again the livelier side after the break and Stanislav Manolev went narrowly wide with a header, while Spas Delev tested keeper Marco Wölfli with a snap shot from the edge of the penalty area.

With both sides desperate for points, the game ebbed and flowed in the closing stages. The defender Ivan Bandalovski looked to return Wölfli's punched clearance with interest, but his effort bounced wide, and then Blerim Dzemaili's fierce shot was headed over by Kostadin Stoyanov before Gökhan Inler almost grazed the post with a low drive.

Bandalovski intervened again to deny Eren Derdiyok a sight of goal in the dying minutes, and Mihaylov fended off a Mario Gavranovi shot at the death.